THIS SEASON: Senior Nicole Dalkas is USC's most experienced golfer and could be a big key for the Women of Troy in the spring. This year's Team Captain, she hopes to get back to her sophomore year form that saw her place fifth at the 1999 West Regionals.

FALL RESULTS: Dalkas finished 57th at the NCAA Fall Preview, then shot a season-low round of 70 and finished tied for 15th at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational. She wrapped up the fall season by finishing in a tie for 24th at the Stanford Women's Intercollegiate and a tie for 48th at the Golf World Invitational.

Nicole Dalkas in the Fall of 2000:

NCAA Fall Preview 77-81--158 (57th tie)

Edean Ihlanfeldt Invit. 70-80-79--229 (15th tie)

Stanford Intercollegiate 76-74-77--227 (24th tie)

Golf World Invitational 78-77-79--234 (48th tie)

1999-00: Dalkas, who was hampered by back problems and struggled a bit during her junior season, finished 1999-2000 with a stroke average of 76.8--fifth best on the team ... Started the season strong with top 10 finishes at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational (223) and the TRW Regional Challenge (216) ... Tied for 13th at the Peg Barnard Collegiate ... Had a career-low round of 68 at the TRW.

1998-99: Dalkas had a strong start to the 1998 season, as she recorded three top 20 finishes in the fall before being slowed by a back injury ... Nicole underwent rehabilitation and was forced to sit out several spring tournaments, but she came back with a vengeance to shoot a 219 at the NCAA West Regional (fifth place overall) to help lead the Women of Troy to the regional crown ... Closed out the season with a 29th place showing at the NCAA Championships ... Was an All-Pacific-10 Conference honorable mention selection.

1997-98: Dalkas made a dramatic impact as a true freshman, playing in 10 team tournaments on her way to a stroke average of 75.9 (second on the team) ... Led the Women of Troy at five tournaments, including the NCAA West Regional (219, seventh) ... Also played in the LPGA's 1998 Los Angeles Women's Championship (Feb. 13-15) via a sponsor's exemption ... Was named to the All-Pacific-10 Conference second team ... Finished the season ranked at No. 31 in the MasterCard Collegiate Rankings ... Had five top 10 performances, including the first two tournaments of her collegiate career (the Dick McGuire Invitational [223, seventh] and the Lady Tar Heel Tournament [221, ninth]).

HIGH SCHOOL: Won the 1997 CIF SCGA High School Championship with a record-setting round of 67 while attending Palm Desert (Calif.) High ... Earned 1996 AJGA/Rolex first-team All-American honors ... Played on the boys varsity golf team for four years and finished in the Top 10 at the CIF SCGA High School Championship each year (1994, fifth; 1995, sixth; 1996, third; 1997, first) ... Won her school's Aztec Impact Award as the best student-athlete (3.9 weighted GPA).

LINKS: Born on March 24, 1979, in Glendale, Calif., Nicole is an economics major at USC.

PERSONAL:

Most thrilling moment in sports -- "Playing in the U.S. Women's Open the summer after my freshman year."

Biggest Sports Hero--"Davis Love III. I think he is a great role model for golf, especially the young fans."

Why she chose to attend USC -- "USC has an outstanding women's golf coach and supporting cast. USC as a whole is a great network. The alumni are the best in the country."

Andrea Gaston on Nicole Dalkas: "Nicole has a chance to end her senior year with a bang. She showed some good signs this past fall of getting back to her old self."